Puppets of Twilight's Heart
by Admiral Godunov
Summary: Drabbles on the Organization's interactions, told from individual perspectives. Chapter 2: Scritch scritch. Bang.
1. Chapter 1

_They're simply means to an end... _

_I._

He never intended to have an entire Organization.

It was going to simply be he and his five fellow schemers, scientists all, grouping together to figure out the mysteries of the heart from their current states.

That was until the day the results of their research emerged. They were Nothing.

_II_.

Though he's number 2, Xemnas doesn't particularly like Xigbar.

Too laid-back. Not _murderous _enough.

He once asked if Xigbar would be willing to fight off the Apocalypse to get his heart back.

Xigbar just smirked and smoothed the air with his hands. "Dude. Chill."

Now Xemnas uses him as _bait_.

_III_.

Xaldin's reputation wasn't exactly earned by normal means.

He was at one point a sociopathic serial killer.

Xemnas was _afraid _of Xaldin. Afraid of that unpredictability that could easily be his downfall.

So he made him a _kidnapper_.

_IV._

Xemnas still trusts Vexen. Even though the old man seems a little batty.

Vexen is capable of amazing feats, if your taste in feats involves creating soulless puppets.

Xemnas likes keeping the old man locked in the labs.

In the end, the Chilly Academic is simply a _prisoner._

_V._

Lexaeus is a physically intimidating beast of a man.

But his most exercised muscle, perhaps is his brain.

Brute strength and intelligence make Lexaeus the only other Member Xemnas truly _fears_.

So he uses the man as a bodyguard, a protector of those whom he sees superior. A _decoy._

_VI._

Xemnas won't admit it, but Zexion is his intellectual superior.

Far less ambition gives him more time to _scheme, _to build his thoughts.

Xemnas doesn't like anyone being better than him at anything. _He's envious._

And so, in a fit of rage, he lashed out and took Zexion's eye.

But Zexion is **still** _better._

_VII._

Saix may be the only Member Xemnas has complete trust in.

He's **mad**, crazy_, berserk._

He possesses the rage Xemnas only wishes he had.

And he's _loyal._

Like some sort of crazed, deranged pet _animal._

_VIII._

Xemnas isn't sure why he took Axel in.

The man is two-faced as they come. Snarky, sarcastic one moment, chuckling and cheerful the next.

He always seems like he's _plotting _something.

And that he was so quick to gain the Key of Destiny's 'friendship' makes him even more suspicious.

But he has other members to deal with. Axel is simply a _trifle._

_IX._

Demyx is _different _from the other members.

He's always smiling about something.

Xemnas thinks he's a fool and an idiot incapable of tying his own shoelaces.

But there's something in the way Demyx is always able to pull a smile from any situation.

Like he's somehow gotten some part of his heart back.

Like he's somehow back to being _whole_.

_X._

Luxord frightens Xemnas, but in a way that Xaldin and Lexaeus do not.

It's not his philosophy of 'all life's a game' that gets to Xemnas.

He gambles with much more than just money and prizes.

_No one _should be able to gamble _fate _but somehow...

Someone has figured out how to _tame it_. And that's something Xemnas is even incapable of.

Luxord may be the only true _immortal._

_XI._

If there's one Member Xemnas doesn't trust, it's Marluxia.

The man is _mad._

Not like Saix.

Not like Xaldin.

He is simply _mad._

And his obsession with flowers makes it that** much**_ worse._

Xemnas needs to get rid of him.

So he makes Marluxia lord of Castle Oblivion. A king of _nothing._

_XII._

He hates her.

_Hates. _Because she can do something to the other Organization Members he _can't_.

And she _laughs right at him_ the entire time she's got her lips against Marluxia's neck, hand down Zexion's pants, Demyx on the ground worshiping her.

She's the _only one_ who's got **everyone's **undivided_ attention._

She lives up to her name and title.

The temptress, succubus, _sadist._

_XIII._

Xemnas is especially unsure of his decision surrounding the acceptance of Roxas.

He's not _devoted _to their cause.

He's not _intimidated _by Xemnas' constant show of power.

Roxas may be the only one of them that's not someone else's _puppet._

_0XIV0_

_They're simply means to an end_.

He uses them as _bait, _as a _decoy _for him while he gets to _kidnap _the treasures the Heartless hold _prisoner, _a bid to make himself _immortal_, to make himself _whole_. He tosses them out like they're _puppets _to his whim, to his _sadist_'s sense of humor, not wanting to get his hands dirty with such _trifle _manners. He treats them like they're all some strange breed of _animal_. He's trying to make his Nonexistence bearable, to make himself feel _better. _To get his heart back, so he no longer has to be _nothing._

He tells them that buy tricking the Keyblade Master into defeating many Heartless they'll get their hearts back.

But perhaps Xemnas is the only one whose heart is still missing.

---

I do not own Kingdom Hearts, nor any of the characters contained within. Nor do I claim to. I do this for fun and not profit.


	2. Chapter 2

_Scritch scritch..._

Xigbar was alone in his room, the only illumination coming from a single lamp sitting on the desk he was currently bent over.

_Scritch scritch_...

He paused and held up the glowing, diamond-shaped arrow, squinting his good eye at it. The writing on the side read IX. He was almost done, and the Keybearer was getting closer... he could feel each of his Sniper Nobodies as they fell back into the darkness.

_Scritch scritch... _

Time to start on a new bullet-arrow. This would be easy. It was a single symbol, but he needed to hurry. It would soon be his time to confront the Keyblade Master, and in that time he would get the chance to loose these special bullets.

_Scritch scritch..._

Two hours later, Sora entered the Hall of Empty Melodies, only to find himself once more confronted by Saix. The man was full of meaningless words as usual, preaching to the Keybearer about how they were using him.

Xigbar always thought Saix had far too big of a mouth for his own good. And now he was proving that it wasn't a good thing.

Xigbar adjusted himself from in the shadows in the corner of the room. He watched as Saix 'ingeniously' summoned up thousands of Heartless to attack the young boy, to collect more hearts from. His skin crawled with the feeling of the darkness they emitted, and he willed himself to suppress a shudder.

Saix left, and the keybearer was left with an overwhelming number of Heartless to contend with.

Now that wasn't fair. Xigbar watched for a moment, seeing how the infamous Keyblade wielder would handle the situation. Not well apparently, as several shadows dogpiled the young man.

Xigbar sighed and teleported into the small platform above the main walkway through the hall. Taking aim, he unloaded his guns into the air, and wiped out the Shadows that had gathered on the walkway. The Heartless retreated slightly at his willing.

The time for battle was upon them. He talked to the Keybearer, words that, to his ears, rang exactly the same as Saix' had but moments earlier.

The irony of the hypocrisy was not lost on the Freeshooter.

The battle began with him sniping from the balcony, and while he could've done this all day and defeated the child, apparently the keybearer had discovered the secret behind the gun-arrows, their one flaw, and exploited it.

The bullets were returned, one grazing his shoulder. Xigbar laughed and complimented the young man on his ingenuity.

The battle wore on. The occasional bullet piercing Sora's flesh, but not after three of its brethren had been sent hurtling back at Xigbar's head. The man was glad he had perfected his teleportation techniques, as well as his 'element' as it were.

Seconds wore into minutes, wore into what seemed to be an hour. Both were running out of stamina, but in the end it was only Sora who knew the secret of healing magic, something none of the Organization had ever figured they would need.

Breathing short and labored, Xigbar reloaded his guns for the final time, twelve bullets, six in each gun.

This was it. He cocked the guns, chambering the bullets numbered I and III. He had skipped II, after all, he WAS II.

Sora began his final charge across the wide platform of the Hall of Empty Melodies.

The first bullet released... a firm hit, to the right side of Sora's abdomen.

_Just like the Superior to be straight to the point... pretentious bastard._

Sora kept coming. The second bullet, the one numbered III flew... another good hit, this time to Sora's left arm.

_Xaldin... never one for studious planning. Misses the important part and goes right for what he thinks they need... not entirely the smartest._

IV and V were outed simultaneously. IV missed, instead hitting a conveniently chunk of ice being hurtled at Xigbar's head, exploding it into tiny, frozen crystals.

_Ah Vexen old friend. Shield over sword... you'd rather play smart... too bad you weren't exactly the bravest. _

V was deflected, but it was a hard enough hit that Sora was stunned.

_Never one for talk but action... Lexaeus... you were always a little too slow..._

VI and VII came next. This would be interesting.

VI was deflected as well, but bounced off the Keyblade, only to peg Sora in the back of the knee. This gave VII its prime opportunity. The bullet grazed his other leg, bounced off the wall, skimmed his shoulder, narrowly missed Xigbar on the return, then went back for Sora, pegging the young man in the chest; right near the heart.

_Zexion... wearing down their defenses to make it easier to strike. Always respected that about you. And Saix... vicious little motherfucker to the end._

The keybearer was about to collapse, when a flash of green light faded all the blood and wounds, restoring his strength. Xigbar grunted, and prepared the next two.

VIII and IX.

VIII missed but paused in midair. The Keybearer suddenly disappeared, reappearing where the bullet seemed to be floating in midair. There was a metallic clang, and the bullet tore back at the shooter, catching him right where his heart would be.

_Traitor to the very end. I used to respect you for your cunning, Axel. Now you're just a two timing bastard._

IX was almost deflected, but instead caught the Keybearer in the shoulder, and actually off-balanced him and gave Xigbar time to re-steady his aim.

_Demyx... always surprising everyone with how strong you really were... too bad you never showed off that power any other time. You could've been great..._

X was fired singularly, a lucky shot following close on the heels of the ninth. Square in the head, this one caught the keybearer. With a strangled cry, he fell, but was once again revived by the green healing magic of his friends.

_Luxord... your luck is so uncanny. I used to hate you for it... but now... well. I'm fine. But you still owe me six hundred munny, you cheap bastard._

XI and XII were also loosed simultaneously. And an interesting pair of shots those made as well.

XI barely missed the inside of the Keybearer's leg, and instead bounced off the wall once more and caught the boy square in the back.

_What can I say but another back stabber? At least you had some honor, Marluxia. Though I don't miss the damn gardens._

XII was a different affair, loosed hard from the guns, it flew with a speed that surprised the Keyblade master, and in a panic he raised his Keyblade and deflected it. Only, he deflected it right into Donald. The duck squawked as the bullet tore across his flesh, feathers exploding everywhere, bounced off the wall and ceiling, before actually going _through _Goofy's shoulder, the talking dog stumbling and collapsing. It bounced two more times off the walls before it hit Sora, but by this time the kinetic energy behind it had been lost, and it merely stuck in his upper thigh.

The young boy grunted and pulled it out, and followed that up with another casting of restorative magic.

_Trying to go after everyone as usual... no focus. Plenty of drive, though... sporadic as your element, Larxene. Pacing yourself might be better for next time, eh heh heh._

One bullet left. The keybearer was nearly to him. He'd have to make this shot count.

The sound of it leaving the chamber would be the last thing Xigbar heard. It was point-blank, right at the kid's chest. But it missed. Some random occurrence of space, time, magic, or luck veered the bullet from its course.

_He wouldn't attack himself, now would he? The kid was too soft for his own good..._

There was the audible 'thunk' of the Keyblade connecting flesh once, twice, three times, and then Xigbar was left, fading to Darkness. He didn't even remember his parting words.

_Scritch scritch..._

Bang.

---

I still don't own Kingdom Hearts or the characters and places within. Nor am I getting any profit from this.


End file.
